DreamWorks Animation has appointed a new chief financial officer, in the latest in a series of management changes at the Glendale studio.

Fazal Merchant, a former executive at DirecTV and Barclays Capital, has been tapped as the company's finance chief. He succeeds Lew Coleman, who will focus on global growth initiatives as vice chairman, the studio said Monday morning.

“As we transition and augment our executive leadership team to best fit the needs of thecompany, I’m thrilled to welcome Fazal into the role of CFO,” Coleman said in a statement. “He brings with him not only passion for our business, but also experience drawn from senior leadership roles across multiple industries, which will be an incredible asset as we continue to grow and diversify.”

Investors welcomed the news. In early trading Monday, DreamWorks Animation shares were up 6% to $21.77.

The appointment comes less than a month after the studio promoted Ann Daly to company president and tapped former Disney executive Mark Zoradi to be chief operating officer. As part of the changes, Coleman, who had been the company's president, was named vice chairman.

Coleman, who is also the company's chief accounting officer, was recently named in a shareholder lawsuit filed against the animation studio. The lawsuit, one of several shareholder actions, contends that the company had misled investors about the poor performance of its 2013 movie "Turbo."

DreamWorks Animation said last month that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the "Turbo" write-down. The company's shares fell 12% after that announcement. The stock price last week was down more than 40% from late February.

Merchant will officially start on Sept. 15. He was most recently senior vice president and chief financial officer of DirecTV Latin America. Before joining DirecTV in July 2012, he was a managing director and group head at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

He also has been a managing director in the investment banking division of Barclays Capital, and spent nine years at Ford Motor Co. in various treasury and finance management positions.